Abstract

The objective:

The aim was to see if plant material could be used to produce gold nanoparticles, and, if yes, to analyze the characteristics of the nanoparticles produced. Challenge: Nanotechnology has amazingly diverse applications, from stain-resistant clothing to a potential cure for cancer. The conventional methods of producing nanoparticles utilize chemicals toxic both to the environment and the body.

It is critical that nanoparticles be produced in a safe, green way so that they are environmentally friendly and biologically benign. Proposed Solution: Plants contain naturally occurring phytochemicals that give the plant antioxidant, anticancer, and antimicrobial properties. It was hypothesized that phytochemicals in plants can be harnessed to produce gold nanoparticles, and a resistance to aggregation in plant material-synthesized gold nanoparticles is expected

Methods/Materials

The solvent was water, and the reducing and capping agent was the plant material. Three different plants were tested: cinnamon, cumin, and turmeric.

The gold salt was HAuCl4. After production, nanoparticles were characterized with UV-Visible Absorption Spectroscopy and TEM analysis.

In vitro stabilities of nanoparticles were tested with different dilutions, the addition of 5% NaCl, 0.5% cysteine, and Phosphate Buffer-7 to raise the pH of the solution to the physiological pH.

Also, nanoparticles were produced using a conventional reducing agent, sodium citrate; the stability of these nanoparticles was tested as well. All tests were done in triplicates.

Results

UV-Vis showed that the peak wavelength was ~540 nm for cinnamon, ~531 nm for cumin, ~556 nm for turmeric. TEM showed particles were mostly spherical and had a size distribution of 13+/-6 nm.

The peak wavelength did not change significantly through all stability tests. The nanoparticles had a robust coating and resisted aggregation.

Conclusions/Discussion

The hypotheses were supported. Plant material can be used to produce stable and biocompatible gold nanoparticles.

This method uses environmentally friendly solvents, reducing, and capping agents and produces biologically benign nanoparticles. As the nanorevolution unfolds, this green method can help solve a pollution problem at the beginning state of a developing technology.